CompuServe Messages

Hi all, Well since I don't want this topic to die out I will go ahead and strat the topic this week. This week I would like to do somthing on equipment reviews. Actualy this topic could go on for a coupple of weeks. So for this week let's take a look at what camers those of you are using in production. I will start it off with mine. I use a Panisonic AG-455 and I am very pleased with the quality to price ratio. Of course I could get much better quality with a JVC X2 or a Panisonic Supper Cam, but for the price I paid for the 455 ( $1,600 ) it has been a great aquisition tool for my company. If the 455 has any down fall it is that of collor bleed to the left under harsh lighting conditions and the lack of a manual zoom. The addition of a VITC generator has been a valuble asset to this camera. The VITC works gret with my VM when I get into post. One thing to remember about the VITC though is that there is no way to set it to a certain position. The VITC starts at 00:00:00:00 it will run everytime you record untill it reaches 24:00:00:00 it will then reset to 00:00:00:00 . Some edit controllers ( mine included ) will have a problem whith this if you swap tapes, record and put the first tape back in and start recording again. By doing this you will have a jump in the timecode that some edit controlers have a problem with. To sum it up the 455 is a great cammera for a producer on a limited budget. You have to keep in mind the problems with the VITC when aquiering footage, and make sure you lighting is good. OK thats mine lets hear about yours. Regards, Michael W. Towe Falcomn Video Productions Santee Ca.